Chapter 4

Iwasn"t surprised to see that the building was guarded, with bulky shifters scattered throughout the wide interior, their eyes scanning us intently for any sign of unrest. As we passed, they nodded to Wolfe, showing recognition and respect in their eyes as they allowed us to continue.

That was interesting. In a city as divided as the Nexus pack, I didn"t expect so many shifters to like Wolfe when it was ruled by the horrible man that also happened to be his father.

We continued walking deeper into the sparsely decorated building, turning corners and taking paths that I knew I wouldn"t remember. Once again, I was taken aback by the unique architecture of the place. The rooms were carved into the heart of a tree, with smooth and polished walls bathed in a warm, golden light that seemed to emanate from the wood itself. As we passed by an open door, I caught a glimpse of a comfortable-looking king-sized bed, it dawned on me that we were in a house.

The house of the Supreme Alpha.

Eventually, we came to a stop in front of a smaller room, and I spotted a head of closely cropped hair, the same shade of brown as Wolfe"s, seated at a desk in the corner of the room.

"Alpha Gregory!" The booming greeting came from the Supreme Alpha as we entered. His piercing gaze assessed our group, pausing on each of us in silent evaluation. He didn"t seem surprised to see us, not even the unfamiliar faces. His nose twitched, and his intense gaze seemed almost disturbing as he looked me up and down, a lecherous smirk forming on his face.

Callan shifted, stepping closer to the Supreme, effectively blocking me from his view.

Wolfe approached slowly, his steps deliberate and measured, with the rest of us following closely behind. He came to a halt a few feet away and nodded in acknowledgment, locking eyes with his father. Their jaws tightened as they vied for dominance, but after only a few seconds, Wolfe averted his gaze, a triumphant grin spreading across the Supreme"s face. "I thought I had raised you to be stronger than that."

Wolfe bristled at the insult, his fists clenching at his sides as he fought to keep his emotions in check. "We caught the killer."

The Supreme"s eyes shifted to Callan, suspicion gleaming in his gaze.

"Not Callan," Wolfe quickly clarified, following his father"s train of thought. "He and Rowan helped us solve the case."

"Hmm," Was all the Supreme said, his disappointment palpable at not having a reason to kill Callan legally. "If it wasn"t your panther shifter, then who was it?"

"You really don"t know?" Wolfe questioned, searching his father"s face for any hint of dishonesty. "It was Lexi." The Supreme"s eyes widened, his brow furrowing in genuine surprise."That"s not possible," he whispered.

"Cut the bullshit," Callan interjected, his voice dripping with accusation. "There were two people that saw her the night she should have died. Me, when I thought I killed her, and then you when I left her here." He stepped forward, moving so he was standing even with Wolfe, the two men making a formidable line in front of the Supreme, whose face was steadily draining of color. His eyes lifted from Wolfe"s, then to Callan"s, then to the rest of the group.

He was outnumbered, and he knew it.

He took a defensive step back, then caught himself, straightening up to his full height. "You better think very carefully about your next words, rogue," he snarled, little droplets of spit flying onto the desk in front of him. "If it wasn"t for my son, I would have ripped your head right off your neck years ago."

White-hot rage burned through our bond as Callan leaned forward, locking eyes with the Supreme.

"What did you do to Lexi?" His voice dripped with the promise of violence, the look he was giving the Supreme sharp enough to cut glass. The Supreme"s face turned a mottled red as he flushed with heat.

"I did nothing to that crazy bitch," he spat, his voice thick with contempt.

Wolfe stepped forward, his presence commanding attention as he drew the Supreme Alpha"s gaze away from Callan. Despite the situation, Wolfe was doing a good job of maintaining his calm, unlike Callan who was a few inches away from descending us into pure chaos.

The Supreme Alpha"s eyes darted nervously between Wolfe and Callan, a hint of uncertainty flickering in their depths. He was being confronted by two very powerful shifters, and even the most powerful shifter in the world would have a hard time taking down both men.

As the tension in the room reached a fast-approaching breaking point, Wolfe spoke. Calm yet forceful, he cut through the charged atmosphere with blade-like precision. "We demand answers," he said, pinning the Supreme with a steely stare. "What did you do?"

The Supreme"s fa?ade began to slip, the mask of defiance he wore on his face fading. Beneath the surface lurked a chasm of fear and guilt. He swallowed hard, eyes darting between all of us. I could almost hear the argument waging war in his head, desperately trying to find a way out of this, a way that didn"t make him look guilty. Finally, he sighed, the corners of his mouth turning downward.

"I sold her."

The room fell into stunned silence, the revelation sinking in, his betrayal souring the air.

"You sold her?" I blurted, unable to keep quiet any longer. "To who?"

The Supreme sneered at me, narrowing a look at me as if I was a poisonous snake about to strike him. "To Casimir."

"So you do know about the fae?" Wolfe demanded, shock and anger radiating off of him in waves.

"Of course I do," he scoffed. "You think I wouldn"t notice a whole new species making power plays in my territory? I made a deal for peace." His tone and expression gave the distinct impression that he was proud of this fact.

"You"re an idiot," Callan said bluntly, not flinching when the Supreme growled a curse at him as he echoed what we"d all been thinking. "Did you even ask him what he was going to do with Lexi?"

"We had an agreement. He would stay on his side of the realm if I gave him a shifter, and he paid handsomely for her too. An Alpha"s wife fetches a high price. It"s not like anyone was going to miss her," he sneered. "She was a traitor to her kind."

"They used Lexi to sneak through our wards and free their imprisoned Queen," Wolfe said flatly. "Not to mention how many innocent lives she took. Do you have any idea the death and destruction that choice cost?"

The Supreme rolled his eyes. "I don"t care. They may not be known to many, but I"ve done extensive research on the fae. I didn"t enter into that agreement blindly. I know they can"t lie."

"Queen Tantaii is my mother," I told him, stepping forward. Shocked surprise blossomed across his face. "And her sole mission is to absorb the magic of the mortal realm, destroying it for good along with everything in it. Handing Lexi to them was quite literally the stupidest thing you could have done."

"You traded her like she was nothing," Callan snarled in a pained voice. My heart softened at the hurt in his voice. Real or not, he had thought she was his mate. And no person deserves to be traded like a business transaction.

"I did you a favor," the Supreme hissed at Callan, his teeth bared. "She had already lost her mind, no thanks to you."

"Excuse me?" Callan roared as dark fur rippled on his forearms, his fingers lengthening into claws within seconds. Wolfe stepped in front of Callan at the same time I reached forward and gripped his arm, both of us preventing him from doing something he might live to regret. My heart ached for him, but I urged him to calm down through our bond. He"d just been accepted back into the pack as a fully-fledged member; we didn"t need him getting himself kicked out again.

Or worse, dead.

"Did you fake the mate bond too?" Wolfe accused, but I was pretty sure I already knew the answer to that. If someone couldn"t have a second, natural mate after the first one died, then there was no other way to explain what had happened between Lexi, Callan, and I when I"d taken Lexi"s last breath. I shuddered slightly at the memory, remembering her hot breath on my face as she"d slumped against me, lifeless. The sheer electricity that had burst through me as our mate bond had solidified. No, there was no way around it.

The Supreme"s breath hitched, and he cleared his throat, trying to find the words he wanted to say. We didn"t let him get that far.

"Don"t bother lying about it, Alpha," Wolfe spat the word at him like it was dirty, folding his arms over his chest. "Rowan and Callan are mates, true mates, and Lexi is dead."

"That"s not possible," the Supreme started again, but Wolfe cut him off. "Stop lying," Wolfe demanded.

The Supreme shook his head, denial lacing his movements as he opened his mouth to spew more objections.

Wolfe exploded, rushing forward, shoving his forearm into the Supreme"s neck, pushing him until he had him pinned against a wall. The Supreme tried to roar, to push Wolfe away from him, but he couldn"t get the angle he needed to struggle against the younger bear shifter. "You treasonous bastard. You were so threatened by Callan"s power that not only did you fake a mate bond, but you consorted with the fae. What the hell were you thinking? You of all people should know how dangerous it is to mess with mate magic. Lexi went crazy because of you, she was never that way before."

"She wanted it," the Supreme ground out, only breathing because Wolfe let up slightly on the pressure against his throat. Bile kissed the back of my throat at those words, and for the first time, I wished I could shift into a ferocious dragon capable of incinerating him to a crisp.

"She always wanted to be an Alpha"s wife, a slum whore addicted to power. Hell, she slept with half the shifters in Nexus. She knew bearing children would be near impossible. But I knew," he laughed, a wheezing chuckle that ended in a slight cough. "I knew she would ruin you. The witches told me it would break her mind, eventually."

A small trickle of pity went through me. Lexi hadn"t known what she"d been getting herself into. What she had done to the Clover pack was underhanded and cruel, but also the actions of a person who wasn"t in their right mind and had been in need of help.

I didn"t really know Lexi personally, but something told me that there had been more to her story than what he"d said. I"d seen barely a glimpse of what life was like in the Nexus slums and that had been more than enough already. What if she"d thought it"d been her only way out?

A volcano of rage burst through our bond, blisteringly intense. "Callan –," I started, but was cut off when the doors burst open, guardian shifters rushing into the room, rifles weighing down their hands. I hadn"t seen a signal given, but it must have happened. A single bullet wouldn"t kill a shifter, we healed too fast, but a dozen certainly would.

"Arrest them," the Supreme growled, taking advantage of the distraction and bringing a knee up that sank into Wolfe"s stomach with a groan. He pushed him down, wrenching one arm behind his back as he leaned into him, trapping him to the floor.

"Now! They have committed treason on our kind!" he shouted, snapping his guards into movement as he struggled with Wolfe beneath him.

"No!" Wolfe shouted, writhing underneath his father. "I challenge you for Alpha!" The room froze, no one even daring to breathe, the Supreme halting his movements above Wolfe. A palpable tension permeated the room, threatening to cut off the air supply.

"You what?" the Supreme hissed, disbelief lacing his tone.

"Oh no," Lily whispered from beside me, huddling in closer to Nia"s side as we watched with bated breath.

"I challenge you for the position of Alpha of the Nexus Pack, and all the North American shifters. As is my right. Unless I lose the challenge, you are not allowed to lay a hand on my pack members or travel guests, or you forfeit the title."

Shocked apprehension rippled through the guards as they lowered their weapons. They seemed to hang on Wolfe"s every word, and I could see in the set of their jaws, the tenseness of their posture that they didn"t want to arrest Wolfe. The Supreme Alpha heaved his large body to his feet, Wolfe scrambling up from the floor with as much dignity as he could muster, his shaggy brown hair mussed beyond repair.

"Very well," the Supreme growled, venom dripping from his tongue. "You shall have your little challenge. But remember, boy, the rites are to the death. Are you prepared to die for this?"

Wolfe brushed the floor from his clothes with a calmness that betrayed the raging storms of his eyes. "You are a disgrace. I only wish I had done this years ago, you don"t deserve to lead our people."

The Supreme stared down his son for a long, stretching moment before he turned to address the room. "A challenge has been issued, and as custom dictates, on the morning of the next full moon, we will fight for the Nexus pack, and the entirety of the North American Shifters." He took a deep breath, his chest expanding with the movement, and I was sure it was to make him look even bigger than he already was.

"We fight in three days."

The group wasquiet as we sat around the small dining table in the house we had been given to stay in. We"d been mostly silent, all of us still reeling from the day"s events. Finally, Lily was the first one to break the silence. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" She echoed what we all were thinking.

"You lost that dominance contest really quickly," Finn added, concern for his new shifter friend written all over his face. The friendship that had blossomed between Wolfe and Finn had made me giggle on more than one occasion.

"It"s been many years since my father has seen me fight. The more he underestimates me, the better," Wolfe said darkly.

"You were planning on this the whole time?" I asked.

"My father has had enough time to be a tyrant. Letting his people live in squalor is one thing, but messing with mate bond magic and selling a human being to an unknown entity?" Wolfe ran a hand through his unruly hair, anger pulling at his features. "My only regret was not doing this years ago. I should have. Then maybe Lexi never would have happened." His eyes softened as they met Callan"s, an unspoken conversation flowing between them.

"I should be the one to challenge him," Callan offered gruffly, the intensity in his gaze making me catch my breath as he leaned forward. "It was my mate bond he messed with."

"No," Wolfe said firmly. "I won"t let you get hurt for this. You"ve been hurt enough already as it is. Besides, do you remember what happens if I win?"

"If you win," Callan emphasized. "He"s bigger and meaner than you, not to mention much older. You could just as easily die."

"Thank you for that vote of confidence," Wolfe said dryly.

"You never needed me to give you confidence," Callan said warily, a ghost of a smile teasing the corner of his mouth. "You do that all on your own." He wasn"t wrong. Wolfe was quick to throw a charming smile, knowing he was going to melt the chilly exterior of anyone he encountered. It was part of what made him a good alpha and easy to follow.

"I know you still see me as a beta," Wolfe said softly, holding Callan"s gaze with determination, not backing down from the dominance I felt spark between them. For the first time since I"d learned about their relationship, I saw a bit of unease in Wolfe, a crack in his cocky exterior. It was like watching a student address their teacher. "But I"m a lot stronger than you gave me credit for. I can do this."

Callan reached out, patting Wolfe on the shoulder as he severed the eye contact, completely relaxed. Outwardly, he looked completely at ease, stuffing his dominance down like it was an overflowing laundry basket. "I"ve known you would be an Alpha from the first day I met you. I thought it"d be, you know, your own pack and not mine, but an Alpha all the same. Supreme Alpha is no different."

"I hate that stupid name," Wolfe muttered softly, his eyes betraying just how much Callan"s words had meant to him. He didn"t need it, but he wanted Callan"s approval. "If I die…," Wolfe started, wincing at the glare that took over Callan"s face. "I think it"s best if we"re prepared."

"If you die, then all hell breaks loose."

"He"ll kill us," I interjected. It was the only course of action that would make sense. There is no other outcome. We knew his secrets, knew what he"d done. Sure, he could try to paint us as liars, but how many people telling the same story about a corrupt Alpha who was already known for mistreating his pack did it take before they believed it? I was surprised he hadn"t already tried to kill us before the fight.

"Why doesn"t he just kill us now? Why wait for the challenge at all?"

"That"s why I raised the challenge when his guard came in," Wolfe explained. "If he had me killed now, everyone would know and by shifter law, he"d be stripped of his title. It"s illegal to interfere with the terms of the challenge."

"He may try anyway," Callan growled, his hand landing on my thigh, fingers tightening against my skin, sending shockwaves straight to my core.

"Then let him," Wolfe"s somber tone caught the attention of the rest of our table, grim expressions echoing on all of us. "I didn"t just invite Nia and Finn here to sightsee."

"We"ll be ready if he is stupid enough to try something," Nia said, sharing a nod with Finn and giving Lily a reassuring smile, lacing their fingers together until they were holding hands.

"What happens if you win?" I asked softly, my mind racing with the possibilities. Even if Wolfe did succeed in killing his father, would we have to deal with his beta coming after us too? The entire pack? We were a powerful group, but we wouldn"t stand a chance against a herd of pissed-off shifters. Wolfe straightened in his seat, sharing an unfathomable look with Lily before he turned back to me.

"Then I become the Alpha of the North American shifters."